Department for Transport

High Speed Two

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many HS2 Ltd staff (1) have previously worked for, and (2) are on secondment from, CH2M; how many of those staff have returned to work for CH2M after working at HS2 Ltd; and how many CH2M staff are located in HS2 Ltd offices.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Twenty-five HS2 staff have previously worked for CH2M.Thirty-seven CH2M staff are on secondment to HS2 Ltd.HS2 Ltd does not hold information on the numbers of people who returned to CH2M after working for HS2 Ltd.There are 84 CH2M people located in HS2 Ltd offices.By way of context, HS2 Ltd’s total headcount is around 1,500.

Network Rail: Finance

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the High Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available for the Office of Rail and Road to determine the amount of funding that Network Rail should receive for the Control Period 6, as required under the Railways Act 2005.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Under the terms of the Railways Act 2005, the publication of the Government’s High Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available responds to the publication of the independent Office of Rail and Road’s Review Initiation Notice. Following publication of the Review Initiation Notice, Government is obliged to respond within three months.

Level Crossings: Closures

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how assessments are made for alternative routes for persons on foot or on horseback, in relation to convenience, safety and other factors, when proposals are made for the closure of level crossings; and what weight is given to such assessments when decisions are made about such closures.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Closures have been central to Network Rail’s level crossing risk reduction strategy for the last seven years. Over 1000 crossings have been closed during this time, significantly contributing towards reduced risk and improved safety across the rail network. Level crossing closure (by means of bridge, underpass, diversion or extinguishment of legal rights of way) is often the only solution that will mitigate level crossing safety risk completely. Network Rail undertakes many different assessments to build a case for closure and identify alternative routes for those on foot or on horse and any proposed closures require agreement from local stakeholders and authorities, otherwise they are likely to proceed to a public enquiry.

Alternative Fuels: Infrastructure

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have submitted their plans for the implementation of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive; and if not, when they intend to do so.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government recently consulted on options to implement in full the requirements of EU Directive 2014/94/EU, known as the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive‎. We are now considering the responses and expect to introduce the necessary legislation for a complete and enforceable transposition during this Parliamentary session, which will then be submitted to the Commission.

Southern: Compensation

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to reconsider the criteria for eligibility for their scheme for compensation for Southern Rail Passengers of one month's free travel so that users of Oyster Cards and contactless payment methods can also benefit.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The one-off compensation package for Southern passengers recognises the extraordinary disruption passengers experienced over a period of time, which is why the scheme applies to season ticket holders. Annual, quarterly, monthly and weekly season ticket holders are able to claim a refund for the equivalent of a month’s (4 weeks) travel. This includes customers with an annual, quarterly, monthly or weekly season ticket on their Oyster card. There are no plans to reconsider the eligibility criteria for the enhanced compensation scheme.

Crossrail 2 Line

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the stages and timescales for the planning and construction of Crossrail 2; and what is the level of Government commitment to each stage of the project.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Government is currently reviewing the Strategic Outline Business Case it has received from Transport for London and is carefully considering it to ensure it is robust and includes a fair, sustainable and deliverable funding plan. The next steps and timescales for the project will therefore be decided as part of our consideration of this business case.

Railways: Freight

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for the reduction in the Modal Shift Revenue Support grant for rail freight.

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their forecasts for the change in the number of heavy goods vehicles using the roads as a result of the reduction in the Modal Shift Revenue Support grant for rail freight.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The reduction in funding for Mode Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) and the parallel Waterborne Freight Grant (WFG) scheme is as a result of 2015 Spending Review decisions to improve efficiency in the use of public expenditure. Since implementation of these reductions was due to begin in 2016/17, but delayed by a year to give industry time to adjust, they include the planned reductions for that year also. Following the final bid round of 2016/17, the maximum number of lorry journeys that MSRS support would help to remove from Britain’s roads and on to rail is 983,162 for that year. However, awards may not be delivered in full and the current year end forecast is for about 70,000 below that maximum. While there are some further bid rounds to come, which may increase the figures or alter what is covered by the two schemes, funding allocated at the first bid round for 2017/18 and 2018/19 will help to remove up to 796,854 and 776,497 lorry journeys respectively.

Airlines: Crew

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they collect statistics on the causes of illness among airline flight crew; and if so, where those statistics are published.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Department for Transport does not collect statistics on the causes of illness among flight airline crew.

Heathrow Airport

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the requirements for surface access improvements to meet the demands of the third runway at Heathrow; what is their estimate of the cost of those improvements; and what is their policy on who will pay for them.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government is currently consulting on a draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) which will set the framework for any planning process, should the NPS be designated. The draft NPS proposes targets to increase the number of airport users accessing the airport by public transport. As part of any planning application the promoter would need to set out in detail how it would achieve these targets as part of its plans for mitigating the impact of expansion. The Government expects, as set out in the Aviation Policy Framework 2013, the cost of any surface access works required solely to enable airport expansion to be met by the promoter. In the case of Heathrow expansion, this would mean that Heathrow Airport Limited, will meet the cost of the surface access improvements necessary to allow expansion of the airport, including re-alignment of the M25, the A4 and A3044, as well as airport and terminal access roads. Where proposed projects have wider beneficiaries, such as Western Rail Access and Southern Rail Access, the Government will expect Heathrow to fund an appropriate proportion of the costs based on the direct benefits for the airport.

East Coast Railway Line

lord bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the funds available to Network Rail for enhancements to the rail network during control period 5 are to be spent on the East Coast Main Line.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Network Rail is forecasting spending approximately £550m (in cash prices) on East Coast Main Line enhancements in Control Period 5, which equates to just under four percent of their enhancement spend.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to require geo-fencing to be installed on all drones for commercial sale.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government’s consultation on the future safe use of drones in the UK closed on 15 March 2017. It included a proposal to require geo-fencing to be installed on all commercially sold drones. The Department intends to publish its conclusions from the consultation in the summer of this year, when we have fully analysed the evidence presented. Many of the leading drone manufacturers already include forms of geo-fencing capability on their drones. However, as geo-fencing is not infallible, the Department is in discussions with manufacturers to explore how it and other technical safety measures might be improved. The Government is also considering a number of other measures to promote the safe use of drones, such as improving information provision and increasing the penalties for breaking the law.

Public Transport: Disability

baroness thomas of winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 February (HL5381 and HL5409), when (1) the draft Accessibility Action Plan, and (2) the consultation on revised best practice guidance for licensing authorities, will be published.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: This government plans to publish the draft Accessibility Action Plan for consultation in the spring. The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the Best Practice Guidance issued to licensing authorities alongside new Statutory Guidance under section 177 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017. The Statutory Guidance will focus on safeguarding measures to protect children and vulnerable adults when using these services. We intend to consult on both of these documents later this year.

Pedicabs: Greater London

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential danger of unlicensed pedicabs operating on London roads for (1) users of pedicabs, (2) other road users, and (3) pedestrians.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Department for Transport has made no detailed assessment of this matter, but is aware that it is an area of concern to many stakeholders, and has had regular discussions with Transport for London and others about it. The Government is committed to legislating at the earliest opportunity to enable the Mayor of London to regulate the pedicab trade in the capital. This should help reduce the risks associated with unlicensed pedicabs on the capital’s streets.

Pedicabs: Greater London

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what data they hold on the level of pedicab-related accidents in London in the last year.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Road safety on London’s streets is a matter for the Mayor and the London boroughs. Transport for London has some data on incidents relating to pedicab activity, including that in the three years to March 2013 pedicabs were involved in 20 reported collisions which resulted in injury. Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police also report a series of ongoing incidents involving pedicabs, including traffic offences and antisocial behaviour.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Government Departments: Copyright

the earl of clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to encourage government departments to adhere to copyright licensing rules.

lord prior of brampton: Each Department is responsible for its own licensing adherence. The National Archives, in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Office and the Government Digital Service, has recently issued simple new guidance to civil servants on the duties associated with copyright belonging to the Crown or to third parties: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/copyright-and-re-use/crown-copyright/ This joins The National Archives’ existing guidance at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/crown-copyright-an-overview-for-government-departments.pdf The cross-sector guidance issued by the Intellectual Property Office also provides an introductory framework for government: https://www.gov.uk/topic/intellectual-property/copyright



Cross Sector Guidance
(Word Document, 20.88 KB)




Guidance to civil servants
(Word Document, 19.33 KB)




National Archives guidance
(PDF Document, 115.28 KB)

Agriculture

baroness smith of basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to incorporate agriculture into their industrial strategy.

lord prior of brampton: The industrial strategy includes measures to enable growth in all parts of the economy – for example through our commitments on science and innovation funding, skills, and digital infrastructure. In addition we have set out proposals for new, business-led sector deals, with the first set of deals already under development.We look forward to working with sectors, including farming and agri-food, which can organise behind strong leadership to address shared challenges and opportunities, building on the close working to date.

Attorney General

Prisons: Smuggling

lord knight of weymouth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many convictions (1) the Metropolitan Police Service, and (2) the Crown Prosecution Service, have secured for conveying prohibited items into prisons, since 1 January 2013.

lord keen of elie: These types of offences investigated by the Metropolitan Police will be prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).Offences of conveying items into prison can be prosecuted under various pieces of legislation. Many are offences which are not specific to prisons and those which are can apply to circumstances where items are conveyed either into or out of prison. Specific offences of conveying prohibiting items into prison cannot therefore be identified from the CPS case management system without incurring disproportionate cost.The official statistics relating to criminal court proceedings, including convictions, are maintained by the Ministry of Justice.

Department for Education

Professions: Equality

baroness afshar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Nash on 6 March, what measures are in place to support minority women who choose atypical professions to embark on such careers and continue them effectively and to deal with public prejudices that prevail about such work not only on grounds of gender, but also colour and creed.

lord nash: The Equality Act 2010 prohibits unlawful discrimination in employment on grounds of gender, race and religion.Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith’s recent report into the issues faced by business in developing Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) talent from recruitment through to the executive layer made a number of recommendations for both Government and business.The Government welcomed Baroness McGregor-Smith’s report and is encouraging businesses to take forward her recommendations. The practicalities of implementation will differ depending on the business in question but we will be working with Business in the Community in supporting companies to make these changes. These include developing a simple guide on how to discuss race in the workplace, an online portal of best practice and celebrating success through a list of the top 100 BME employers.Dame Louise’s Casey’s review of integration and opportunity, published in December 2016, also highlights the employment prospects and English language proficiency among certain groups, including minority women. The Government is currently reviewing its findings and will respond in the coming months.Ensuring the labour market provides equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, religion or gender, will require a joint effort with Government working with the private sector and organisations like Business in the Community to deliver the lasting change needed.

Government Equalities Office

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) press releases, (2) announcements, and (3) statements, were made over the last six years by the Government Equalities Office on (a) transgender, transsexual and other sexual issues, and (b) disabled people.

lord nash: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is a unit in the Department for Education. It has lead responsibility within Government for policy on gender, sexual orientation and transgender equality, while the Department for Work and Pensions has lead responsibility for policy on disabled people. Since the GEO became part of the Department for Education in 2015, that Department has released 75 press notices, statements or announcements referring to transgender and transsexual issues, and 12 referring to disabled people. Further information on press notices, statements or announcements referring to policies on disabled people will be held by the Department for Work and Pensions. Similar information from earlier years when the GEO was first a separate Government Department and then later part of the Home Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is not available.

Civil Partnerships

the earl of shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to legislate to allow partners of the opposite sex to form civil partnerships.

lord nash: The Government carried out a consultation on the future of civil partnerships in 2014. Views were invited on three options: abolishing civil partnerships; phasing them out; or extending them to opposite sex couples.The review found that there was no clear consensus on the future of civil partnerships. A majority of respondents to the consultation were against extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples and several significant stakeholders thought it was too soon to consider making changes to civil partnerships until the impact of extending marriage to same sex couples is known. Given the lack of any consensus, the government did not change the Civil Partnership Act 2004.The decision not to change the law was judicially reviewed last year and the Government won in the High Court. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against the High Court judgment this week and confirmed that the Government’s approach is lawful.We welcome the Court’s ruling. Before we take any action on this issue, it is right that we evaluate the impact that same sex marriage has on the take-up of civil partnerships. We will also carefully consider this judgment and its implications before deciding on our next steps.

Ministry of Justice

Pentonville Prison

lord knight of weymouth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the fulfilment of the duty of care to ensure the safety of prisoners and staff at HMP Pentonville, since 1 January 2013.

lord keen of elie: Safety is an ongoing key priority for this Government. Extra funding for Violence Reduction has been provided to address issues of violence and to allow for improvements to be made in the prison environment. Our recently published White Paper on prison reform announced a major shake-up of the prison system to help make prisons places of safety and reform. Since January 2013 the fulfilment of the duty of care to ensure the safety of prisoners and staff at HMP Pentonville has been assessed by a number of means. The London and Thames Valley Deputy Director has frequently visited the prison to assess and report progress; National audits of Safer Custody and Security have occurred annually; Independent Monitoring Board reports have been produced annually; and HM Inspectorate of Prisons has visited in January 2015 and January 2017. The prison has delivered improvements in security, with metal detection devices being used for all movement off the wings and improved mobile phone detectors utilised across the prison. Patrol dog cover has also been introduced into the establishment which is continuing until further notice. The window replacement programme began on the 5 December 2016. This has focused on the areas of greatest vulnerability to items being thrown through these windows, additionally the priority areas of netting have been fixed in all areas around the prison. There is extensive CCTV coverage and HMP Pentonville have recently improved the way these cameras are monitored by increasing the number of staff monitoring them.

Pentonville Prison

lord knight of weymouth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the escape of two prisoners from HMP Pentonville in November and other recent security breaches, when they first became aware of deficiencies in the perimeter security at that prison, with particular regard to the nets and windows; and when work to make good those deficiencies will be completed.

lord keen of elie: A project to renew those windows identified as in need of replacement was approved and released to tender in the summer of 2016 as part of a standard maintenance programme, with work beginning in November 2016 and due to finish in March 2017. Following a recent review of security at Pentonville a secondary project to carry out further work including the fitting of netting and additional window replacement is due to begin in April with a forecast completion date of June. Additionally a project to repair the Perimeter Intrusion Detection System and CCTV is due to start during April with a forecast completion date of June 2017. There is extensive CCTV coverage and HMP Pentonville have recently improved the way these cameras are monitored by increasing the number of staff monitoring them.

Prisoners

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a current list of those serving custodial sentences in HM Prisons is available online to (1) the police, (2) HM Passport Office, and (3) HM Revenue and Customs.

lord keen of elie: Within each prison there is a Police Liaison Officer, who has access to National Prisoner Offender Database and can therefore see who is serving a custodial sentence within the said Prison. The department also do a National Prisoner Offender Database extract called OFFLOC that is a complete extract on a regular basis that is imported into the Police National Computer (PNC) system so the Police have the information available directly via their own system and also share information with other agencies like DWP, via an extract. Although the Police, HM Passport Office and HM Revenue and customs currently don’t have direct access as the database is hosted on a restricted network, the MoJ shares information with other Government departments when needed subject to a risk assessment and an information sharing agreement is in place. The department don’t share information without a specific need, due to the sensitive nature of the information, and this is covered under the Data Protection Act to keep information secure and only share with people that need to see it.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Museums and Galleries

lord hutton of furness: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much financial support they have provided to regimental museums in each of the last five years.

earl howe: In addition to the National Army Museum, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) currently supports 69 regimental and corps museums across the UK through a combination of a grant in aid, salary costs, and providing utilities and some support running costs where a museum is located on a MOD site. It is not possible to disaggregate utilities or support costs but the table below shows the details of support provided, by financial year (FY), where available: CostFY 2012-13FY 2013-14FY 2014-15FY 2015-16FY 2016-171Grant in Aid£0.6 million£0.8 million£1.2 million£1.4 million£1.6 millionCS salariesNot available2Not available2Not available2£1.6 million£1.4 million Notes:1. Figures for FY 2016-17 are projected.2. Salary information is not available for FY 2012-13 to 2014-15.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Mental Illness

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their commitment to treat mental health as seriously as physical health, what assessment they have made of the findings of MIND that over 160,000 people with mental health problems would be affected by their proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment.

lord henley: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) ensures parity of treatment between mental and physical conditions by looking at the overall needs of an individual, not which conditions they have. However, recent legal cases have broadened the way the PIP assessment criteria are interpreted. The Government has, therefore, made drafting changes to the PIP regulations to help ensure that PIP is being delivered in line with its original intent. The changes to the regulations will not result in any claimants seeing a reduction in the amount of PIP previously awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forests

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to increase the area of publicly accessible woodland for local communities in the light of the Woodland Trust's 2015 report Residential Developments and Trees which found that access to the natural environment can have benefits to health and well-being.

lord gardiner of kimble: We recognise the benefits to health and well-being of people being able to access the natural environment and the role of publicly accessible woodland as part of that. In addition to maintaining the public forest estate, which is the largest open-access forest we have in this country, we are increasing the area of accessible woodland in a number of other ways. For example, as part of our commitment to plant 11 million trees during this Parliament, the Forestry Commission recently launched the Woodland Carbon Fund, to help create new woodlands. This provides increased incentives where permissive access is granted by the landowner for 30 years, as well as support for recreational infrastructure. We are also working with stakeholders to assess the quantity and quality of the public rights of way network within and alongside woodland, which may lead to improved access; planting a million trees in and around schools; championing the Urban Forestry and Woodland Advisory Committee’s ‘Vision for a Resilient Urban Forest’; and conducting research into the value and benefits of urban trees, like the iTree Eco UK project.

Tree Planting

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve tree planting rates as part of their forthcoming 25 year plan for the environment, food and farming.

lord gardiner of kimble: Our ambition is to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it, and we are committed to publishing a long-term plan that builds on our long history of wildlife and environmental protection, and sets out a new approach to managing the environment. We want everyone to have a say on building polices that enable our environment to thrive, which is why we are working closely with a range of environmental and conservation groups and businesses to develop initial proposals. We will shortly launch a public consultation on our ambition. We recognise the wide range of benefits that trees can bring to our environment and we are keen to increase planting rates as we work towards our ambition. In the spring we are holding a number of forestry engagement events with stakeholders to discuss the 25 year environment plan and our manifesto commitment to plant 11 million trees during this Parliament.

Thames Tideway Tunnel

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many CH2M Hill staff (1) are working for; (2) are seconded to; (3) have worked for; or (4) are advising under consultancy arrangements: (a) Thames Water, (b) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and (c) Bazalgette, on the Thames Tideway Tunnel project.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has no CH2M Hill staff working for it on the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) project now or in the past. CH2M Hill has been contracted to Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (‘Tideway’) as project managers for the TTT project since August 2015, and before that to Thames Water Utilities Limited (‘TWUL’). The engagement of CH2M Hill staff by Tideway or TWUL for work on the TTT project is a matter for them as private sector companies.

Thames Estuary: Floods

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many CH2M Hill staff (1) are working for; (2) are seconded to; (3) have worked for; or (4) are advising under consultancy arrangements the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on flooding in the Thames Estuary.

lord gardiner of kimble: CH2M Hill does not currently have any staff working for or seconded to Defra for works on the Thames Estuary. CH2M Hill has 65 full time equivalents working on flooding in the Thames Estuary under consultancy arrangements with the Environment Agency. CH2M Hill has not had any further additional staff working on flooding in the Thames Estuary in recent history.

Home Office

Passports

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make arrangements for the police to have online access to the details of British passport holders held on the database of HM Passport Office.

baroness williams of trafford: Police forces are able to access passport records via an online portal for specific law enforcement purposes subject to a formal Memorandum of Understanding being in place with Her Majesty’s Passport Office, which governs access and ensures compliance with data protection requirements.

Immigrants: Republic of Ireland

baroness mcdonagh: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to permit Irish citizens currently living in the UK to continue to do so following the UK’s exit from the EU.

baroness williams of trafford: The close historic, social and cultural ties between the UK and Ireland have led to the creation of additional rights above those associated with common membership of the EU. The special status afforded to Irish citizens within the UK is rooted in the Ireland Act 1949 and, for the people of Northern Ireland, in the 1998 Belfast Agreement. Leaders in the UK and Ireland have confirmed their commitment to protecting the rights enjoyed by UK and Irish nationals when in the other State.We remain committed to preserving the rights of Irish citizens within the UK.

HM Treasury

VAT

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McKenzie of Luton on 10 October 2005 (HL1518), whether they will update the table showing standard VAT rates and thresholds for the 28 European Union member states.

baroness neville-rolfe: The information requested is provided in the attached table.



updated table
(Word Document, 13.92 KB)

Personal Income

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individual UK taxpayers reported pre-tax incomes over (1) £10 million, (2) £5 million, (3) £2 million, (4) £1 million, (5) £500,000, (6) £250,000, (7) £100,000, (8) £50,000, (9) £30,000, and (10) £25,000, in the most recent tax year for which figures are available.

baroness neville-rolfe: The information is provided in the table below. Total income before tax by band (lower limit)Number of taxpayers (thousands)£25,0003,280£30,0006,600£50,0002,490£100,000641£250,00094£500,00030£1 million11£2 million3.4£5 million0.7£10 million0.3 These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2014-15, which is the latest available tax year.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Copyright

the earl of clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in renegotiating their agreement with the Copyright Licensing Agency; and in doing so, what consideration is being given to providing efficiencies to the public purse, through means such as obtaining a pan-government licence.

lord young of cookham: The Cabinet Office currently coordinates the purchase of a cross-government copyright licence on behalf of departments and is considering a proposal from the Copyright Licence Agency.

Government Departments: Copyright

lord dubs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding they provide to support the renewal of central government copyright licences.

lord young of cookham: The Cabinet Office pays for the cross-government copyright licence and then recharges to other government departments.